Squirrelberry: Life After The Chocolate Factory

Chapter 1: The Tale of Violet Beauregarde (Prologue)

(Wonka's Tour, 10 years ago)

Scarlet and her daughter had been walking, or in Violet's case, rolling down corridors for what seemed like days. Violet was already growing tired from the pain she was beginning to feel as her body continued to grow and stretch. She'd let out the occasional moan of discomfort as she was being rolled down the corridor, but for the most part, the trip was silent. Scarlet would occasionally make a passing glance at her dome shaped daughter, but she couldn't even fathom to speak to her due to a mix of shock and anger she had towards Wonka and his staff. Violet looked at her mother with pleading eyes before managing to quietly squeak out "...Mother?" to which Scarlet locked eyes with her daughter, a look of worry crossed her face. She let out a tired sigh and responded "It'll all be over soon, Violet." Before looking away once more. Violet looked around as the pain began to taper off, as if her body was adapting to the rapid expansion she was experiencing. All she could hear was the footsteps of her mother and the blueberry juice flowing and sloshing around inside her. This last for a few moments before everything came to a screeching halt.

"W-Why are we stopping?" Violet stuttered. "Miss Beaureguarde. Welcome to the juicing room." Greeted an Oompa Loompa with not a hint of emotion in its voice. Scarlet peeked inside, the room was all white with fluorescent lighting, followed by the quiet whirring of various machines operating inside. The Oompa Loompa turned to Scarlet quickly, "We need to get your daughter inside as soon as possible. Waiting any longer would make it impossible to fit her through the entrance." Scarlet stepped back as the other Oompa Loompas struggled to roll Violet inside. She had gotten so big at that point that the amount of help wasn't enough. The lead Loompa turned to Scarlet and signaled to her that they needed a human's strength to get Violet inside. Scarlet reluctantly walked up and began to push and shove against her daughter with all her might. Violet could feel herself being shoved into the entranceway and into the bright room with no issue at all. Just as Scarlet was about to catch up to her daughter, the lead Loompa stepped in front of her "I'm sorry, but you aren't allowed access beyond this point." He said. Scarlet's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "B-But my daughter NEEDS me back there! She's NOTHING without me!" The angry mother protested. "Mr. Wonka has ordered me not to allow any unauthorized-" the Oompa Loompa was then cut off by Scarlet "Your brainwashed boss is the whole REASON my daughter is stuck like this! So either you let me back in there or I'm taking this to the press!" Scarlet threatened with some bite in her voice, the small helper being left stunned. Scarlet was planning to take her story to the press anyway so she could milk it for all it was worth, so she assumed there was no harm in being just a tiny bit threatening. Because if there was one thing she loved doing, it was exploiting her daughter as much as she could. She knew Violet was only a child and didn't know any better, which drove her ambitions even more. The Oompa Loompa quickly cowered and stepped away, allowing Scarlet to enter the juicing room.

The room was filled with several large tanks and machines, each of the tanks holding several types of fruit juice, from blueberry, to cherry, to even apple. "So you don't just turn people into blueberries here?" Scarlet asked. "Well. Not intentionally, Miss." The lead Loompa said. "Mr. Wonka has experimented with several types of pies for his 3 course gum, but all of them have ended in the same result. We're actually trying strawberry rhubarb next week!" This information intrigued Scarlet. Wonka was so set on making this invention of his that has failed time and time again hit store shelves? But why? A part of her wanted to know more about the creative process behind all this, but at the same time, she just wanted her daughter to be juiced so they can go home after an ordeal as disastrous as this. "And...How long has Wonka been working on this... Project of his?" Scarlet questioned. "Quite a while, actually." The Oompa Loompa said. "He's been cracking away at this for several months now." Scarlet listened intently as the small human explained Wonka's intent behind such a silly concept for candy. Much like the Everlasting Gobbstopper, this gum was meant to be affordable for children who have very little pocket money to spend on stuff like toys or treats. That way they wouldn't go hungry for at least one night. Wonka planned for the gum to come in packs of 7, one stick for each day of the week. The sticks were meant to be split upon each family member in the household so everyone could have their equal share.